“Ramesh?” Karishma was surprised to receive a call from UK, “What’s up?”

“Boss has fallen ill.”

“I read in the newspaper.”

“I think you should come here…”

“I am not a doctor Ramesh,” she laughed slightly.

“Media doesn’t know everything. He has been drinking a lot…”

“You are saying it like he is a teetotaler otherwise.”

“Not a teetotaler, but he is not much of a drinker. Trust me. Doctor says he is suffering from depression…”

“Get him somebody he can humiliate and torture. He would be fine. And don’t call me about it. In case you still have any confusion, let me clarify that our marriage is farce. Just another way for him to try and control my life. Neither of us care about each other…”

“Karishma. Listen to me…”

“What?”

“There are things I have seen over the years and I can tell you more about what I feel you mean to him… But right now here is the most important thing. I bring him back to his room every day, when he has drunk too much in the bar… He keeps asking for you when he is unconscious… More than once I asked him say ‘I am sorry’ to you… It’s painful to see a fierce person like him in this state. His depression is so severe, he can’t work even when he is not drunk. Please come once…”

“He is one lucky bastard. Despite being what he is, there are people who care for him. But I am sorry, Ramesh. I am not one of them. I don’t want to discuss this again. Bye.”

—

Karishma again looked at the photo Ramesh had sent to her. ‘He has gotten a lesson or two in shrewdness from his boss as well,’ she grumbled. When she did not listen to him on phone, he just sent her a photo of Siddharth. He did look miserable and Karishma just couldn’t get that image out of her mind. It was indeed painful to see a fierce person like him in this state. But what caused it? Surely it was not because he was feeling any remorse for her. What was that ‘I am sorry’ business. Ramesh must have made that up. And what the hell! Even if he was sorry, it didn’t mean he deserved to be forgiven for all that he had done.

But she was getting ahead of herself. Right now, he was miserable. And if Ramesh was to be believed, her presence might help. Unable to detach herself, she dialed Ramesh back.

“Who can help me with VISA and ticket?” she asked.

“I will arrange for someone from the office to take care of it,” Ramesh was relieved.

—

“What’s going on?” She asked Ramesh, rushing into Siddharth’s suite at the hotel. Ramesh had not come to receive her at the airport and had sent a note mentioning that there was some emergency.

“He has found out who leaked the story to the media and is furious. It was one of the bodyguards. We have sent for him. There he comes…”

“What story?”

“Erm… your… hate-converted-to-love story?”

“Someone else had leaked it?”

“What did you think?”

“Nothing.”

“He hadn’t leaked it.”

The bodyguard had come to them by then. He looked worried. Obviously the news had reached him.

“Go in,” Ramesh indicated towards the bedroom.

“No. Wait,” Karishma intervened. She recognized him as the guy who was not letting her enter her office in Delhi, when Siddharth was visiting, “Did you leak it?”

“N… No Ma’am. There is some…”

“I will help you only if you tell me the truth.”

“I… I’m sorry Ma’am…”

“Yes?”

“I got angry and I just took up a reporter on her offer… I hadn’t said all she wrote though…”

“Of course. Ramesh. Can you please find out for me why this guy was so angry at the boss that he spoke to the media? I will go and see him meanwhile.”

—

“Knock before…” Siddharth shouted as Karishma entered his room, but fell speechless when he noticed who it was. Despite having seen his photo, Karishma was surprised to see him in person. He looked sick, hadn’t shaven in probably over a week and she could smell alcohol even from a distance.

“When did you come?”

“Just now.”

“How?”

“Of course, I didn’t swim across English channel. I flew.”

“I mean… I hope it was comfortable… It was your first international flight?”

“Yes. Ramesh helped me.”

Just then there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Siddharth responded and Karishma noticed that even his voice was weak.

Somebody had brought her luggage. They looked awkwardly at each other. Then she asked the guy to just deposit the luggage near the door.

“There is an attached twin room in the suite,” he pointed towards a door, “You can use that. Take rest. I have to see someone right now.”

“Correction: You have to fire someone…”

“Who told you that?”

“Why do you want to fire him?”

“You don’t have to bother about it,” he had asserted himself before her for the first time since their wedding night.

“I just don’t want anybody fired or punished because of me.”

“Do you know what he did?”

“Did you try to find out why he did that?”

“For money. What else?”

“For revenge, may be. Money would be a good side-effect, of course.”

“Revenge?”

“He is not the only one angry at you, is he? When you go about insulting and humiliating people left and right, what do you expect?”

He just stared at her. Then asked sounding defeated, “What do you want?”

“Since when did that start mattering?”

“I am asking you,” he said with a hint of annoyance.

“I want bigger things in life, but for now don’t fire him and save me from the guilt of being the reason for destroying someone’s life. Can you do that?”

He nodded.

“What is your plan?” she asked.

“What plan?”

“The entire unit is held up here. Money is being wasted. You are too busy drinking. How long will it go on?”

“Is that why you came?”

“I talked to Diksha Ma’am before coming. I was hoping she might come and manage the situation. But she also sounded angry at you. ‘None of my business’ is what she said and disconnected the phone. You know very well how to alienate people and drive them away, don’t you?”

“What do you know about keeping people?” Siddharth was provoked, “Could you stop your father from dying?”

Karishma was stunned and hurt. “You ARE disgusting!” she snapped and walked away towards the door he had shown her earlier.

—

Siddharth was about to knock on the door of Karishma’s room, when he heard her voice, “Why aren’t you shooting the scenes that don’t involve him?”

“He prefers being on the shoot himself, even if…” It was the director of the movie.

“We don’t have that luxury right now. Shoot the scenes that don’t have him. Shoot others around him. In fact shoot the ones that you can do with his body-double as well.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“Depends on the scene. When he comes back, you might want to re-shoot some of those. But for now, wasting time and money does not make sense.”

“When do you think he will be back.”

“I don’t think he can shoot in this trip now. He has lost so much of weight. Even if he were to return to the shoot, I think the continuity will be broken. People don’t lose 8-9 KGs between scenes, do they?”

The director laughed slightly at that and Karishma joined him. Hearing her laugh was odd for Siddharth.

He waited until they had exchanged the parting pleasantries and the director had left her room from the main door. Then he knocked on the door connecting their rooms and entered.

“Lunch?” he asked.

“I will order.”

“We can order it together…”

“Right. Else the media would know that we aren’t having lunch together. Sure.”

“That’s not the point…”

“Of course not. We are so much in love with each other. Anyway. Let’s order it. We need to talk about the shooting.”

Siddharth made the call from her room and ordered lunch.

“You are already managing things, I see,” he said as they eat.

“I spoke with the director, yes. The entire unit was here and nothing was getting done.”

“Thanks.”

“Unless British air suits you better, you should probably come back and recuperate. Your scenes will have to be shot later.”

“You don’t want to stay here for a while?”

“Even if I wanted to, why should it affect your plans?”

“You don’t want to?”

“No.”

“You don’t want to see new places?”

“I want to see the entire world, but not with you or your money.”

“Why did you come here, then?”

“Because Ramesh practically begged me to. Do you want to go back?”

He sighed and nodded.

“I will ask Ramesh to make arrangements as soon as possible.”

—

To be continued